High Stakes

by Barbara Dunlop

  Derek’s eyes darkened as the moment drew out. “Funny,” he said. “Sex has been on my mind constantly since—”

  Panic shot from Candice’s toes to her chest. “Don’t.”

  He dropped his arms to his sides. He didn’t move, but he suddenly seemed closer. “Don’t what?”

  Her heart rate spiked. “We can’t do it again, Derek.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because this is business. You’re working with my father. I’m your sister-in-law’s business partner. We’ve already made it complicated enough.” And, like Marco, he would chew her up and spit her out when he was done.

  “You think making love a second time is going to make any difference at all?”

  Yes!

  But she was tempted. Oh, how badly she was tempted.

  “And then what, Derek?” she forced herself to say. “A third time? A fourth? A fifth? Where do we stop? We can handle it now.” At least she thought she could handle it now. She didn’t dare entertain the idea that she was past the point of no return.

  “You’re gorgeous,” he said.

  “You’re incorrigible.” She knew resistance was her only option. She couldn’t imagine any twelve-step program that involved indulging in the addiction.

  “It’s part of my charm,” he said. “Makes women want to tear off their clothes.”

  Candice glanced down at the rough flagstone floor and shivered at the thought of the chill on her bare skin. “Here? With your housekeeper waiting in the wings? I don’t think so, Derek.”

  “I’ve got a bedroom.”

  “I bet you do.”

  “Door locks.”

  She stiffened her spine. “I’ve got work to do. You want to help, or should I find someplace quiet to concentrate?”

  “There’s not a hope in hell you’ll say yes, is there?”

  Candice shook her head.

  “Then I’ll help with the presentation.”

  There it was. Her opening to say she needed him to deliver the presentation on Saturday. It wasn’t exactly the perfect time to ask a favor, but the clock was ticking.

  “Glad you’re willing to help.” She forced a cheerful note into her voice. “Because the Society wants you to make the formal presentation on Saturday.”

  Derek’s eyebrows went up. “Me?”

  She nodded. “Their policy is to only receive requests from the owner.”

  A smile grew on Derek’s face and a calculating twinkle rose in his eyes. She knew that expression. He wanted to get a negotiation going.

  She took a step back. “Not a chance.”

  “I didn’t ask for anything.”

  “You’re about to.”

  He inched closer. “Can we get a negotiation going here or not?”

  “I’m not having sex with you in exchange for the presentation.”

  “Who said anything about sex?”

  “I’m not stupid. You’ve been talking about sex for the past ten minutes.”

  “I’ve been thinking about sex for the past four weeks.”

  Candice stood her ground. “You agreed the heritage designation would boost community goodwill, and you could use it as a media campaign springboard. I’m the one doing you a favor. You should give me something in return.”

  His grin widened. “Anytime, anyplace.”

  Candice groaned.

  “I was going to ask you for a kiss, Candy.”

  “A kiss?”

  “A kiss.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “You remember what happened last time we bargained for kisses.”

  “Definitely.”

  “This is not a good idea.”

  “As you so correctly pointed out, Mrs. Bartel is likely to walk in anytime. She may know most of my secrets, but I don’t think she’d appreciate witnessing my sex life first hand.”

  Candice sifted through the possibilities in her mind. She could handle a kiss, particularly if it secured his participation on Saturday.

  “Only a kiss?” she asked.

  “Right.”

  “Won’t lead anywhere else?”

  He nodded.

  “I kiss you, and you make the presentation.”

  “Absolutely.”

  “Saturday. Ten o’clock.”

  “I’ll be there.”

  “For one kiss?”

  “Two.”

  Candice took a bracing breath and fastened the top buttons on her blouse. Sometimes a woman had to do what a woman had to do.

  Derek chuckled. “Want to slip into a chastity belt?”

  “Probably a good idea.”

  “You know we’ve been talking about kissing for longer than it’ll take to do it?”

  Candice smiled. “I need to make sure the deal is ironclad.”

  Derek moved forward, gently taking her hand and drawing her to him. “You want to come and work for me someday?”

  “Doing what?”

  “Labor negotiations. You’re dynamite.”

  “Only because you’re weak and you don’t date often enough.”

  “You think I’m so attracted to you because I haven’t been with a woman in a while.”

  “Seems like a safe bet.”

  He touched his index finger to the bottom of her chin. “You’d lose, Candy.”

  She sucked in a tight breath as a hum of sensation started with his fingertips and cascaded through her body. Her hands went limp, and the pen she’d been holding dropped onto the table. The whoosh of the waterfall filled her ears.

  Desire for Derek overloaded her senses, and she subconsciously leaned toward him.

  “I’m taking this as a yes,” he whispered as his palm cupped her chin and his other arm went around her.

  “Yes,” she whispered in return, pressing against his chest, wrapping her arms around his big body. He was strong and as solid and hard as granite.

  His hot lips pressed against hers, gentle, firmer, harder. It was territory they both knew well and neither hesitated to open their mouths and deepen the kiss.

  It was good. It was better than anything Candice had felt in her life. It might only be a kiss, but it filled her entire body with liquid warmth. Her extremities tingled. Her skin warmed. Her senses sharpened as the essence of Derek surrounded and flooded her.

  One kiss turned to two, and then three, and then four. She wanted more. She wanted skin on skin.

  They could do it. It could be quick. It could be lightning if Derek felt half the desperation she did.

  On the love seat? Behind the fountain? Beneath the leaves of a lush bush?

  The door at the end of the pillared pathway opened with a clatter.

  Derek drew back, setting Candice away from him.

  He glanced at his watch. “Right on time,” he breathed.

  Candice blinked, gasping, struggling to get her bearings. “You knew when she was coming?”

  He gently lowered Candice into her chair. “A smart man compensates for his own weaknesses.”

  11

  SMART MIGHT BE A BIT of a stretch, but Derek was definitely weak when it came to Candy. For the next three days, he forced himself to stay away from her. Though she’d acknowledged the chemistry between them, she insisted she didn’t want anything physical.

  Unfortunately, Derek desperately wanted something physical. And he was a very goal-oriented guy. He knew the only way to stop himself from trying to change her mind was to keep his distance.

  So they’d talked on the phone and faxed drafts of the presentation back and forth. He found himself spending an inordinate amount of time on her project, rearranging his schedule to accommodate her phone calls, then working late every night to compensate.

  The schedule was grueling, even for him.

  Late Friday afternoon, his brothers called him on it. They convinced him to join in on the last beach barbecue of the season. He’d agreed and showed up at Pacific Beach. But with Candy wreaking havoc on his time-management skills, he was contemplating how early he could cut out and get back to
the balance sheet for the Electronics Division.

  He moved to where Jenna was setting dishes on the picnic table, the red plastic tablecloth billowing in the breeze. “I’m sorry, Jenna, but I’m going to have to—”

  He did a double take as a silver MG pulled into the parking lot above the concrete retaining wall.

  Candy?

  He squinted through the windshield of the car as the female driver shifted it into park and set the brake. She reached for something on the seat beside her, and he saw her profile.

  It was Candy.

  “You have to what?” Jenna prompted, passing him a stack of glasses.

  “Nothing.” He shook his head, automatically putting the glasses at the place settings in front of him. “Never mind.”

  It would be rude to take off as soon as Candy arrived. And he could handle seeing her on a public beach. It wasn’t like there’d be an opportunity to proposition her.

  She pushed open the driver’s door and stepped out, wearing cream-colored jeans and a mauve raw-silk blouse. The sleeves were long, but the ties at the neck were loose, and the filmy fabric drooped casually over her smooth, golden shoulders. She waved, giving Jenna a wide smile, but her expression faltered when her gaze landed on Derek.

  Derek raised his eyebrows at Jenna. “You didn’t tell Candy I was going to be here, did you?”

  Jenna smirked. “Candy?”

  “Candice,” Derek quickly corrected, wondering how much his family had gossiped about them.

  “You think she needed a warning?”

  “Of course not,” Derek lied. “We’re friends.”

  “Just friends?” asked Jenna.

  “She doesn’t want anything more,” Derek admitted.

  “That’s because she’s scared of you.”

  He breathed out a laugh. That was ridiculous. “Candy’s not scared of anything. She’s tough as nails.”

  She’d beat the crap out of him over the carpet, the leather upholstery and everything else they’d ever disagreed on. She’d had him jumping to attention all week long. She even had him blocking off his entire Saturday morning to talk to little old ladies about the esthetic value of historic bricks.

  And, sexually speaking, she had him wrapped around her little finger. He should be the one scared of her.

  Around the corner of her trunk lid, he could see her struggling to lift a big red cooler.

  “Be right back,” he said to Jenna, leaving the glasses to take the concrete stairs two at a time.

  “Need help?” He lifted the cooler out of Candy’s hands without waiting for her answer.

  She met his gaze dead on. “Hey, Derek.”

  Didn’t seem scared of him so far. “How’s it going?” he asked, watching her closely, just in case Jenna was right.

  She pushed the trunk shut and shrugged her beach bag onto her shoulder. “I’m fine. You?”

  So much for Candy quaking in her boots. They were friends. Friends with a chemistry thing.

  “I’m great.” He turned toward the staircase that led back to the beach. He was great. He suddenly felt lighter, more relaxed than he had in days.

  “Read the final draft this afternoon,” he said as he started down the stairs. “Looks like we’re ready to rock and roll.”

  She fell into step beside him. “I scanned the rest of the pictures in for the computer presentation. Finished about an hour ago.”

  They hit the sand. “Should we meet early tomorrow to rehearse?”

  Candice bent to strip off her sandals. “You think we should?”

  Derek paused to wait for her. “A dry run is always a good idea. My office?”

  “Sure.”

  He smiled at her, feeling better by the minute. He held up the cooler. “I’ll put this in the shade.”

  “Thanks.”

  “No problem.”

  Jenna and Erin joined Candice as Derek headed for a shady spot where the retaining wall curved back on itself.

  Tyler and Striker sauntered over, eyeing up Candy’s cooler in Derek’s arms, both grinning knowingly.

  Derek clamped his jaw, set down the cooler then straightened. “Just because you two don’t have the manners God gave a hound, doesn’t mean I can’t act like a gentleman.”

  Their grins widened.

  “Toast,” muttered Tyler.

  “Crispy,” said Striker.

  Derek scowled.

  “Volleyball?” called Jenna.

  “You bet,” said Derek, feeling a sudden need for physical activity.

  They gathered at a beach volleyball net fifty feet from their picnic site. First Erin and Striker beat Jenna and Tyler. Then Candy and Derek beat the other teams in two straight games to claim the championship.

  Despite her willowy model shape, Candy turned out to be a darn good player. Her athleticism surprised Derek, though her competitive spirit was no less than he’d expected. Jenna was nuts. Candy knew no fear.

  While the barbecue warmed up and the sun dipped toward the Pacific, the women sipped fruity cocktails on the beach blankets while Derek joined his brothers for Frisbee.

  Whenever Tyler made a good catch, Jenna would cheer. And Erin called out when Striker was successful.

  Derek tried not to mind the silence after his moves. But when he made a particularly stunning dive catch that sent him rolling across the sand with the white Frisbee clutched tightly against his chest, he couldn’t help but look up at Candy.

  She grinned at him, giving a thumbs-up.

  He felt like he’d just caught a touchdown pass at the Super Bowl. He jumped to his feet, a silly, self-satisfied grin on his face as he tossed the Frisbee back to Striker.

  By the time they finished Frisbee and devoured the hamburgers, it was dark enough to light a fire. As the air temperature dropped and the other beach-goers headed home, they arranged the blankets around the orange flickering bonfire.

  Small waves lapped on the sand twenty feet away, burbling instead of roaring now that the tide had reached high slack. The night was clear and the stars as bright as diamonds.

  Jenna cuddled up to Tyler, and Erin leaned back against Striker’s chest. The conversation took a lull as the two couples exchanged quick whispers.

  Derek’s arms suddenly felt empty.

  He wished he could join Candy on the other side of the fire. She’d fit so nicely between his legs, warm and soft against his chest. He’d wrap his arms around her, rub the goose bumps from her shoulders, inhale the fresh scent of her hair, feel her body hum as she spoke to him in low tones.

  He’d love to hold her in his arms. But it was out of the question. Their relationship was too…

  Relationship?

  He pulled that thought up short.

  His glance flicked to her face.

  She looked out of place and uncomfortable, sitting between the two loving couples. Kind of like how he felt.

  He stood. “Walk on the beach, Candice?”

  Gratitude flashed across her face. “Sure.”

  The other four barely seemed to notice when they left the circle of the firelight. Derek took up Candy’s hand. She didn’t pull away, and he felt his body relax.

  “Nice catch,” she said.

  He smiled. “Thanks. You’ve got one hell of a volleyball serve.”

  She laughed, swinging their joined hands in wide arcs. “And you’re a handsome man, with impeccable taste and good manners.”

  “Thank God no one is listening to us.”

  “It could be a little embarrassing.”

  Derek didn’t feel embarrassed. He felt silly and giddy and happy. He wished the beach would stretch out forever, so they could keep walking and walking. Maybe if they talked long enough, he’d figure out what was going on between them.

  He thought about what Jenna had told him and sobered. “Candy?”

  She obviously sensed the change in his mood. She stopped swinging their arms. “Yeah?”

  “Jenna said something earlier…”

  Candy stiffened.r />
  Maybe it was true. “She told me—”

  “Derek.”

  “—that you were scared of me.”

  Candy stopped in her tracks. “Scared?”

  He turned to face her. Cool light from the rising moon outlined her face. She wasn’t wearing makeup, still her skin was flawlessly smooth, her lashes long and dark, and her lips the color of roses. She was definitely the most beautiful woman in the world.

  His voice dropped to a whisper. “I don’t want you to be scared of me, Candy.”

  She gave him a half smile and shook her head. “I’m not scared—”

  “Good.”

  “—exactly.”

  “What do you mean, exactly?”

  “You put me off balance,” she admitted.

  He took her other hand and braced his feet on the soft sand. He was about as off balance as a guy could get. “Because I turn you on?” he asked, hopefully.

  “Because I never know what you’re thinking,” she neatly sidestepped.

  “Want to know what I’m thinking now?”

  “I’m not sure.”

  “I’m thinking you’re gorgeous.”

  “Derek.”

  “I’m thinking I want to kiss you.”

  “Don’t say—”

  “But then, I’m always thinking I want to kiss you.” He didn’t wait for her to react to that, just leaned forward and put his desires into action.

  She didn’t pull away, she softened.

  He slipped his arms around her waist, and hers wound around his neck. The kiss was slow and gentle, long and satisfying. This is what he’d wanted back at the fire. Candy, him, touching, together.

  He needed to hold her tight and keep the world away. Just for a little while. Just until he felt centered. Just until he could breathe without wanting her.

  He kissed her cheek, her temple, her ear, inhaling her scent, reveling in the touch of her silky smooth skin.

  She moaned his name and pressed against him, a beacon drawing him closer, pulling him toward something he didn’t understand. All he knew was that it mattered. She mattered.

  “Come home with me,” he whispered.

  “But—”

  “I need you, Candy.” The words sounded raw. They felt raw. His chest was burning and his limbs were starting to tremble.